HERLO: Close To Death

By the time I woke up, it was completely dark and I knew immediately that it was the middle of the night. Though I didn’t feel like I was going to die anymore, I still felt pretty weak, my mouth dry and my head banging.

I needed water so I forced myself off the floor to sit up. My gaze swept to the door and I was about to call for the two maids when I paused and furrowed my brows.

Is something burning?

A loud beeping filled the air and it was ringing so loudly I had to cover my ears with my palm. “What’s going on?” I sniffed the air. It was the smell of smoke as if the entire place was engulfed in flame.

I quickly rushed to the door and grabbed the door handle, however, the immediate burn made me shove away from the floor, falling on my butt, my heart thumping heavily.

What the hell?

The handle was incredibly hot. It burned and I lowered my gaze to my palm which was a painful red. It couldn’t be what I was thinking right? The house wasn’t on fire, was it?

Fear crept up my spine and I immediately rushed to the window. I tried to open it, but it was locked. What was going on? Why was no one coming to get me?

The maids, where are they? I turned to the door and rushed towards it, but stopped the second I remembered it was hot. The smell of smoke was becoming stronger and I wasn’t stupid enough not to realise it was only a matter of time before the room I was in would be lit in flames.

“Hey!! Somebody help!”

Silence, it was all silence. I needed to get out, so I grabbed the duvet, rushed to the bathroom, and turned the tap on at the sink. I wet the material as much as I could, before running back into the room.

My gaze scanned my surroundings and knowing the door was the only way to get out safely, I wrapped the cloth around the handle of the door and tried to open it. Nothing, nothing at all. It wasn’t opening, the damn thing was locked and there was definitely no key lying around.

I didn’t think Romare ever had them lock the door. So why was it locked? Tears stung my eyes from the smoke seeping into the room through every opening and I clutched my chest, finding it hard to breathe.

“Help! Someone help me!!!” I screamed as loud as I could, hoping that someone would come to my aid—that someone would hear and come for me, but even after one minute, no one did. And by now, the room was almost filled with smoke.

I began coughing hard, my vision going fuzzy. Everything was in a blur, and I staggered from one place to another, clutching onto the warm wall for support. “Someone…p-please…”

“…Someone, please, help me.”

Breathe.

Breathe, Herlo.

I tore off a good chunk of my dress and tied it around my nose. Then I stumbled my way to the bathroom, glancing around for anything. A first aid box, a fire extinguisher? There had to be any of these somewhere. And luckily for me, there was both.

Atop the cabinet, there was a fire extinguisher and a first aid box and I climbed onto the toilet seat, hissing at the burning pain under the sole of my feet. I jumped down once I’d grabbed both and quickly made my way back to the bedroom. The smoke was already encompassing the room, so much so that it was turning foggy.

The fire could be coming through the hallway, so I decided on the window first, slamming the box of first aid into it and shattering it to pieces. However, before I could even dive in, a wave of fire blew in, and I sprinted back on instinct, falling to the floor with a heavy thud.

“Shit.” I could have burned. My heart was running a marathon in my chest and I knew the door was my last result.

I’d grabbed the fire extinguisher, determined to get out of there and use the opportunity to escape these people. The lock wasn’t budging no matter how much I hit it and I could see the flames creeping into the room through the window.

“No, no, no, no, please I don’t wanna die like this.” I’d begun crying without knowing it. “Please, please, someone help me!” I hit the lock so rapidly like a crazy woman. Fear gripped my heart and I couldn’t look away as the fire grew so close to swallowing me up.

Click!

The lock fell and I crashed the door open without a second thought, dashing out of the room and into the hallway. I raced down the path, ignoring the burn under my feet.

“Someone! Someone please help me!” I yelled as loudly as I could, despite the smoke clogging my throat. “Romare!! Romare!!! Help—“

Something wrapped around my throat—a strong male arm, cutting off air and pulling me flush against a solid frame. It wasn’t Romare, this scent was new and I’d never smelt it before.

“Let go!! Let go of me!” I fought, grunting and wriggling to free myself. The sound of ruffling clothes and a folded towel was slammed over my face, covering my nose and mouth. Sharp pain stabbed the side of my neck and fire erupted in the spot he forced the liquid into.

My screams were muffled and I reached my hand back, jabbing it into his face—-eyes, I had no idea. But whatever it was had allowed me to momentarily flee from him until I was blanketed in warmth.

My knees gave out and I dropped to the floor, fighting the effects of the drugs as long as possible for the man to slowly approach me.

Everything was going blurry, darkness closing in on me. My hands were grabbed, but I couldn’t see the face of the person.

“Stupid bitch!” Was all I heard, before I was yanked up and thrown over a solid shoulder. I had never felt so close to death.

“Let go! Let go of me! Romare!!! Romare!!!”

My vision was gone, but still, I thought of him, and I screamed his name.

“ROMARE!!!”